Australian sea lion vs Leatherback Sea Turtle

Neophoca cinerea compared with Dermochelys coriacea

Key Differences

Australian sea lion is Endangered while Leatherback Sea Turtle is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Australian sea lion	Leatherback Sea Turtle
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (cordados)	Chordata (cordados)
Class	Mammalia (mamíferos)	Reptilia (reptil)
Order	Carnivora (carnívoros)	Testudines (Turtles & Tortoises)
Family	Otariidae	Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles)
Genus	Neophoca	Chelonia (Green Sea Turtles)
Species	Neophoca cinerea	Dermochelys coriacea

Evolutionary Relationship

Australian sea lion and Leatherback Sea Turtle share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (cordados)

Vista Phylum: Chordata

Conservation Status

Australian sea lion

EN — Endangered

Leatherback Sea Turtle

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~35.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Australian sea lion	Leatherback Sea Turtle
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	50 years
Average Length	—	2.0 m
Average Weight	—	500.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Australian sea lion

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Leatherback Sea Turtle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 5 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Indomalayan and Neotropic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Costa Rica, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Trinidad and Tobago. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Australian sea lion

The Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) is a species in the genus Neophoca. It is currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.